The studio has seven computers, a dedicated video-editing station and a small recording studio -- all of which teens can use to make their own independent projects. While the studio and computers are free and open to all teens of Pasadena, the program is primarily a service for the northern portion of the city.

On any given day, as many as 20 kids ages 13 to 19 can be found at Dream Studios making movies, producing music, authoring Web pages, designing advertising logos or just hanging out while doing homework or research projects.

"At the very least, we're getting some students off the streets and into something constructive," Saldivar said. "In some cases, some students don't even have e-mail, so we might just be trying to create a bridge over the digital divide."

However, Dream Studios is much more than that, said Saldivar, who graduated from Pasadena High School in 1997. He went on to graduate from Harvard University in May 2001 with a bachelor's degree in anthropology.

After graduating, Saldivar decided he could perhaps make more changes working with kids in north Pasadena than working as an assistant to politicians in Washington D.C. -- his original plan.

With the latest in multimedia technology, the students are exposed to creative problem-solving skills using the same professional software as professional graphic designers, music producers, video editors, film directors and Web page designers.

Creating videos or music boosts self-esteem and inspires the students, Saldivar said. Even if they're just hanging out, they also are exposed to other creative teens who might inspire them.

"It's really close to school, so it's great," she said. "It's kind of like a coffee shop where you can hang out with your friends and learn in a productive environment."

Velasquez, who has become a mentor at Dream Studios, produced a 10-minute film for an advanced-placement English class with fellow mentor and friend Aleida Guardado, 17, who also will attend U.T. in Austin this fall.

During a week's time after school, the teens used a small digital camera, an I-Mac and the software I-Movie to create an alternate ending to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. The students wrote, produced, directed and acted in the movie.

The students also are creating a slide show for their senior class to be shown at their Project Graduation, which is a post-graduation activity designed to provide students a safe atmosphere to celebrate graduating from high school.

While Velasquez and Guardado are doing their thing, other students, like sophomore Oscar Tellez, 15, and sophomore Walter Walker, 17, are hanging in the small music studio doing their thing -- freestyle rapping over instrumental beats.

At Dream Studios they can rap and rhyme over their own hip hop beats in the studio. The studio, complete with padded walls and monitors, allows them to record their tracks and burn them to a CD, which they can take home and play for friends and family.

The hours they spend after school rapping in the studio would cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for time at a commercial recording studio.

Off the top of his head, Tellez, who goes by the moniker Yogi, drops a little wordplay by rapping "This is P-Town, so stand up. Raise your hands up. I'm gonna do a crazy dance," then Walter grabs the microphone and proceeds to offer some more irreverent wordplay over an instrumental song of the latest Ludacris rap single.

For now, Tellez and Walter say they are "serious as a heart attack" when it comes to pursuing a career in the hip-hop business, but they both have tentative plans to go to college.

Saldivar also has worked out a deal with Pasadena High School administrators to allow students on detention to serve their time at Dream Studios, where they're encouraged to do homework.

"I think coming here is a much more productive place instead of sitting on campus after school staring at a wall," he said.

Students interested in Dream Studios must register by filling out an application listing their interests and their dreams. About 60 teens are now official members.

Edna Miggins, executive director of North Pasadena Community Outreach, said the Dream Studios offers teens more technology and hands-on training than most well-funded high schools can.

"We certainly want them to feel this is a place in where they feel they're welcome and they can express creativity and see a future in creative arts," she said. "Other than thinking there might be nothing beyond high school, we can show them there are opportunities for their future."

With grant money, NPCO purchased about seven computers and officially started the program last spring. The organization hired on Saldivar full-time last summer.

Celena Bernal, NPCO outreach coordinator, said Saldivar really is responsible for making Dream Studios what it is today.

"We had all the equipment, but no set curriculum, so he's actually making his own curriculum and designing his own program," said Bernal, who oversees continuing education programs at Town Square Mall.

She said Dream Studios is loosely modeled after a program in Boston. She hopes other agencies in Texas look to Dream Studios as a pilot for similar programs.

Bernal thinks Dream Studios and other NPCO programs are successful because they are free and there also is not too much paperwork or rules involved for participants.

"For the most part, anybody needing services, we can give it to them," she said. "When you have too much red tape, people can't really access programs, so it becomes frustrating."

NPCO funds services and administrative costs with a number of grants. A total of 13 people operate on a $300,000-a-year budget.

Saldivar often takes students on field trips to area businesses to expose them to real-world working environments. While the students can pretty much work on independent projects, they will work on logos and fliers for community events, such as a recent basketball tournament and the most recent Earth Day celebration.

This summer Saldivar plans to have students help make two professional Web sites -- one for Dream Studios and another for North Pasadena Community Outreach.

By assigning students different projects for the Web sites, he hopes they can learn how they can be a contributing part of a real business.

Once the Web sites are up, he plans to have the students update them daily and post their own multimedia projects. He also hopes one day to host an independent film festival of works by Dream Studios students.

"There's just so much we can do here," he said. "Every community should have something like this, and that's hopefully what we are going to help establish."